Nate Oats Lists Biggest Areas of Growth Since Last Mississippi State Game

The Crimson Tide head coach explains how the recent boosts in Alabama's health, ball movement and defensive effort have led to its six-game winning streak.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats gets animated calling a play in the first half of the game against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 17 Alabama basketball is far from perfect.

One year it's defense, another it's rebounding or turnovers, and this season is all about player health. The Crimson Tide has constructed over a dozen starting lineup combinations in its 27 games this season, as multiple key players were consistently banged up.

This was perhaps most evident in Alabama's first game against Mississippi State. UA had eight scholarship players available during that Jan. 13 night in Starkville, Miss., and despite being down 14 points midway through the first half, the Tide prevailed 97-82.

"For us to come in here and figure out a way to get a road win with the number of bodies we had tonight just shows a lot about who our guys are, the character of these guys, how hard they play," Oats said after the game. "I couldn't be more proud of the group."

Over 40 days have passed since that outing, and Alabama is set to rematch the Bulldogs at home on Wednesday night. Head coach Nate Oats shared during Tuesday's press conference what his team's biggest area of growth has been since the first matchup against the Bulldogs.

"We've gotten healthier, that's number one," Oats said. "You look at every one of our games, like back in January, beginning of February, even in December, who did we have that game, who didn't we have? You had to ask that in every game. So one is we got a little healthier."

After falling to Florida on Feb. 1, Alabama moved down to the ninth spot in the conference standings, and the college basketball world started to question whether or not the Crimson Tide would be a threat in the postseason.

But a switch flipped after that loss, as Alabama has won six straight games and sits at No. 2 in the SEC standings. Everything seems to be trending in the Tide's direction, as there are only four games remaining on UA's schedule.

So, in addition to getting the team healthier, how has Alabama grown on the court over the last few weeks?

"I think the ball is moving better," Oats said. "We had some issues with ball movement at times back then. And I think our overall defensive effort from everybody — last game, [Alabama guard Aden] Holloway's defensive effort was light years ahead of maybe what he had been back then.

"So, I think our ball movement, guys being able to move the ball, defensive effort — I think those are two of the biggest areas. But I just think getting healthy and getting our chemistry better, because we just had so many guys missing so many games back at that point."

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